American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Zacks Research

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Barrington Research boosted their price objective on American Public Education from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Weiss Ratings lowered American Public Education from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Lake Street Capital lifted their price target on American Public Education from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. B. Riley Financial boosted their price target on American Public Education from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised American Public Education from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Public Education currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.38.

American Public Education Stock Performance

NASDAQ APEI opened at $45.13 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $52.46 and a 200-day moving average of $51.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98. The stock has a market cap of $825.88 million, a PE ratio of 18.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.38. American Public Education has a 52-week low of $28.34 and a 52-week high of $61.59.

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $171.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $170.88 million. American Public Education had a net margin of 6.84% and a return on equity of 15.56%. American Public Education has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.480-2.790 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.180-0.290 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Public Education will post 2.62 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Thomas Beckett sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.00, for a total transaction of $108,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 52,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,817,288. This trade represents a 3.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 10.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Public Education

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of American Public Education by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,386 shares of the company’s stock worth $209,000 after buying an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Militia Capital Partners LP boosted its stake in American Public Education by 7.2% in the second quarter. Militia Capital Partners LP now owns 7,432 shares of the company’s stock valued at $226,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in American Public Education by 40.5% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,914 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 552 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its position in American Public Education by 5.5% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 11,795 shares of the company’s stock valued at $466,000 after acquiring an additional 618 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co grew its position in American Public Education by 8.6% in the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 7,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $445,000 after acquiring an additional 621 shares during the last quarter. 79.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting American Public Education

Here are the key news stories impacting American Public Education this week:

• Positive Sentiment: APEI recently reported quarterly earnings of $0.52 per share, exceeding analysts’ $0.36 consensus estimate, while revenue of $171.73 million was slightly above expectations. The results helped drive an initial share-price gap higher. American Public Education Shares Gap Up After Better-Than-Expected Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Northland Securities raised its FY2026 EPS forecast to $2.58 from $2.53 and its FY2027 estimate to $3.06 from $3.05, signaling modestly improved expectations for future profitability.
• Positive Sentiment: The company unveiled an AI-powered student lifecycle platform being developed with Salesforce. The platform is intended to provide personalized support, proactive advising and connected student services, potentially improving student engagement and retention over time. American Public Education Unveils AI-Powered Student Lifecycle Platform
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks recently characterized APEI as a strong value stock, which could attract value-oriented investors, although the latest update does not provide a new price target or earnings revision. Why American Public Education Is a Strong Value Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded American Public Education from “strong buy” to “hold,” reducing a potentially important source of buying support. Zacks Research
• Negative Sentiment: Northland Securities cut its Q3 2026 EPS estimate to $0.24 from $0.41, indicating weaker expected near-term earnings. Although its Q4 forecast increased to $0.87 from $0.81, the Q3 reduction is likely weighing more heavily on sentiment today.

American Public Education Company Profile

American Public Education, Inc operates as a provider of online postsecondary education, offering degree and certificate programs through its wholly owned subsidiary, American Public University System (APUS). The company designs and delivers a broad range of undergraduate and graduate programs in fields such as business administration, information technology, criminal justice, homeland security, health sciences, and education. Its curriculum is developed to meet the needs of working adults, military personnel, veterans and civilian students seeking flexible, career-relevant learning opportunities.

APUS is regionally accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and employs a proprietary online learning platform that supports asynchronous instruction, digital course materials and interactive learning tools.